SAN ANTONIO — A South Texas man has been acquitted in the shooting death of a woman he met on Craigslist as a possible escort.

A jury in San Antonio on Wednesday acquitted Ezekiel Gilbert of murder.

The defense says Gilbert was protecting himself from theft when he shot Lenora Frago on Christmas Eve 2009. She died several months later.

Attorneys for Gilbert say he paid the woman $150 to have sex — then she refused, balked at returning the money and said she had to give the cash to her driver. The defense said Gilbert’s actions were justified because he was trying to retrieve stolen property and the driver was part of the theft scheme.

Prosecutors say Gilbert got mad and shot Frago when she refused to have sex with him.